In this paper Stephen Curtis, one of Australia’s most respected designers for performance, draws on his 30 years’ experience to argue for a deeper understanding of the designer’s role as central to the development of any theatre performance. The task of giving concrete form to a play or dance work, he writes, is a team process in which the designer is a uniquely agile contributor to the dramaturgy by making meaning visually for both the participants and the audience, and offering an encompassing, fluid perspective.

Curtis uses an historical overview of performance design to illustrate how the designer’s role has evolved from scene painting to a complex discipline; and, in a valuable insider’s account he investigates the way collaboration really works through sharing the intense process that brought The Secret River to the stage.